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A GUIDE TO THE HANDBOOK

Guidelines for Multilingual Writers

What are count and noncount nouns and articles?

What are definite and indefinite articles?

How do I use prepositions of location and time (in, on, at)?

What are two-word verbs?

Do I use the preposition to or for with indirect objects?

When do I use the past, present, and future tenses of verbs?

How do I form negatives?

What are conditionals?

How do I use relative pronouns correctly?

What is the order for cumulative adjectives?

How can I avoid mixed constructions, faulty predication, and subject errors?

What’s the difference between prepositions and conjunctions?

What is the difference between direct and indirect quotations?

38. BASIC GRAMMAR

1. Parts of Speech pos

a. Nouns

b. Pronouns

c. Verbs

d. Adjectives

e. Adverbs

f. Prepositions

g. Conjunctions

h. Interjections

2. Subjects subj

a. Singular and plural subjects

b. Simple and complete subjects

c. Finding the subject in a sentence

3. Verbs, Objects, and Complements vb, obj, compl

a. Action verbs and objects

b. Linking verbs and complements

c. Helping verbs

4. Clauses and Phrases cl, phr

a. Clauses

b. Phrases

5. Sentence Structures sent

a. Basic patterns

b. Longer sentences

39. GRAMMATICAL SENTENCES

6. Sentence Fragments frag

a. Phrases

b. Subordinate clauses

c. With a participle but no other verb

d. Compound verbs

7. Comma Splices and Fused Sentences cs/fs

a. Repair by separating sentences

b. Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction

c. Use a semicolon or a colon

d. Use subordination

e. Use a conjunctive adverb

8. Verb Form, Tense, and Mood tense

a. Verb forms

b. Simple present

c. Simple past

d. Simple future

e. Perfect tenses

f. Simple progressive tenses

g. Perfect progressive tenses

h. Be, have, and do

i. Lie/lay and sit/set

j. Mood

9. Subject-Verb Agreement agr

a. Person and number

b. Intervening words

c. Subjects with and

d. Subjects with or or nor

e. Collective nouns

f. Indefinite pronouns

g. All, any, and some

h. Subordinate clause

i. Subject following verb

j. Linking verbs

k. Titles

l. Singular nouns that end in -s

10. Pronoun Case case

a. Subjects

b. Subject complements

c. Appositives to subjects

Objective Case

d. Objects

e. Appositives to objects

Possessive Case

f. Possessive case

g. With gerunds

11. Pronoun Reference ref

a. Implied antecedents

b. Antecedents of it, this, that, or which

c. Ambiguous reference

d. Place pronoun close to its antecedent

12. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement agr

a. Person and number

b. Antecedents joined by and

c. Antecedents joined by or or nor

d. Indefinite pronouns

e. Collective nouns

f. Gender

13. Adjectives and Adverbs adj, adv

a. Adverbs to modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb

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b. Adjectives as subject or object complements

c. Good and well

d. Forming comparatives and superlatives

e. Using comparatives and superlatives

f. Omit most with superlatives

14. Shifts shift

a. Tense

b. Time

c. Voice

d. Person

e. Mood

f. Level of language

40. EFFECTIVE SENTENCES

15. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers mm/dm

a. Misplaced modifiers

b. Squinting modifiers

c. Dangling modifiers

16. Incomplete Sentences inc

Comparisons

a. Make full comparisons

b. Finish comparisons

c. Compare things of the same kind

d. Use any other

Elliptical Constructions

e. Words essential for clarity

f. In a compound predicate

g. With as and than

17. Mixed Constructions and Faulty Predication mixed

a. Mixed construction

b. Faulty predication

c. Definitions with is when or is where

d. The reason is because

18. Parallel Structure //

a. Coordinating conjunction

b. Correlative conjunction

c. Comparisons

d. Repeating words

19. Coordination and Subordination coord/sub

a. Uses of coordination

b. Faulty coordination

c. Excessive coordination

d. Uses of subordination

e. Faulty subordination

f. Excessive subordination

20. Sentence Variety var

a. Normal sentences

b. Inverted sentences

c. Cumulative sentences

d. Periodic sentences

21. Active and Passive Voice pass

a. Use active voice in most cases

b. Use passive voice in certain cases

41. WORD CHOICE

22. Appropriateness appr

a. Tone

b. Level of formality

c. Jargon

d. Euphemisms

e. Slang

23. Exact Words exact

a. Connotations and denotations

b. Clichés

c. Idioms

24. Bias-Free Language bias

a. Terms that include or imply man

b. Plural instead of singular

c. Words denoting gender

d. Condescending labels

e. Implied stereotypes

f. Use of Ms.

25. Wordiness w

26. Commonly Confused Words ww

42. PUNCTUATION

27. End Punctuation .?!

a. Period to end sentences

b. Period after abbreviations

c. Question mark

d. Exclamation point

28. Commas

a. Main clauses

b. Introductory elements

c. Series

d. Coordinate adjectives

e. Nonrestrictive phrase or clause

f. Nonrestrictive appositives

g. Conjunctive adverbs

h. Parenthetical expressions

i. Phrases of contrast

j. Absolute phrases

k. Direct quotations

l. Yes and no, mild interjections, tag questions, and direct address

m. Dates, states, countries, and addresses

29. Misuses of the Comma

a. Subjects and their verbs

b. Compound subjects

c. First or last item in a series

d. Restrictive words, phrases, or clauses

e. Indirect quotations

30. Semicolons ;

a. Main clauses without conjunction

b. Main clauses with conjunctive adverb

c. Series with internal punctuation

31. Colons :

a. Between two main clauses

b. Introduce a list or a series

c. Introduce an appositive

d. Introduce quotations

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e. Conventional uses

f. End of a main clause

32. Apostrophes ’

a. Singular possessive nouns

b. Plural possessive nouns ending in -s

c. Plural possessive nouns not ending in -s

d. Joint possession

e. Possessive compound nouns

f. Possessive indefinite pronouns

g. Possessive personal pronouns

h. Contractions

i. Letters, words, etc., mentioned as words

33. Quotation Marks “”

a. Direct quotations

b. Quotation inside another quotation

c. Long quotations

d. Dialogue

e. Titles

f. Misuse

g. With commas and periods

h. With semicolons and colons

i. With other punctuation

34. Dashes —

a. With sudden break or shift in tone

b. Introduce an explanation, an illustration, or a series

c. With asides or parenthetical expressions

d. Overuse

35. Parentheses, Brackets, and Ellipses ()[] . . .

Parentheses

a. Sentence interruptions

b. Letters or numbers in a series

Brackets

c. Explanatory information or alterations to quotations

d. Errors in quotations

Ellipses

e. With quotations

f. Misuse

43. MECHANICS

36. Abbreviations abbr

a. Titles with proper names

b. a.m., p.m., BCE, AD, and $

c. Months, days of the week, etc.

d. Latin abbreviations

e. Organizations, corporations, and people

f. Countries

37. Capital Letters cap

a. Proper names and adjectives

b. Titles and ranks

c. Family relationships

d. Religions

e. Places, regions, and geographic features

f. Days of the week, months, and holidays

g. Historical events, periods, and documents

h. Schools, colleges, departments, and courses

i. Titles of works

j. With quotations

38. Numbers num

a. When to write out

b. For addresses, dates, etc.

c. Consistent use of words and figures

d. Beginning sentences

39. Italics ital

a. Titles, names, and words

b. For emphasis

40. Hyphens hyph

a. Compound nouns and verbs

b. Compound adjectives

c. With prefixes and suffixes

d. To avoid confusion

e. With fractions and compound numbers

f. Inclusive numbers

g. Ends of lines

41. Spelling sp